Less than three weeks ago we weren't sure if anyone would be interested in our Kickstarter project. We decided to "just do it"... and boy we're glad we did.

I'm so grateful to everyone who has backed us so far. Who do you know who wants to learn to make computer games? They can be a complete beginner!

I'm combining my recent experience teaching online, with the brains of a programmer I highly respect (Brice Fernandes) to create the most ambitious and complete course online on making "indie" games online using Unity 3D. Here we are hard at work...

Using Kickstarter to get money in the bank before we start production is nice. The amazing feedback we've had from the community is invaluable. They are voting like crazy this Trello board, letting us know which games they want us to create in the course.

Furthermore they have been super helpful with stretch-goals, which to be honest we've had trouble keeping up with! We were only looking for £3,500 to start with and it's possible we'll hit 10x that!

I'm very happy to answer questions about how I made it successful, just ask in the comments below.

I love EverNote, hence including it in my 2014 Top 10 Business Tools post here. However, scanning documents into it can be a real pain.

My OLD process (takes several minutes, and involves waiting which I hate)...

Scan the document using the clunky HP Scan on the Mac.

Wait for it to finish.

Save the file.

Drag into EverNote.

Delete the file (if being tidy).

My NEW process (only takes me a few seconds, then automatic)...

Scan to email on the printer

That's it... a few minutes later it's in EverNote!

It's a dream now, if you want to know how to set this up for yourself then read on...

Step 1 - Find Your Printer's Web Page

Yes, a lot of modern network printers have their very own web pages! Not all printers have this option, mine (an HP LaserJet Pro 200 color MFP - M276nw) does but the option is buried as hell. Here's how I found it on my printer...

Open Your Printer Utility

Find the printer's web page

Step 2 - Setup "Scan To Email"

Find your printers' "Scan to email" settings, not this will only be possible on network connected printers.

Setup Email Profile

These were the settings I used on my HP, for Google Apps Mail. Hang-in there, it'll be worth it in the end. Remember you'll be able to scan direct to EverNote in seconds once you're done...

Setup your email server

I use Google Apps Mail, and decided with 2-factor authentication so I decided to setup an "App Specific Password" for the printer like this.

Step 3 - Test It Works!

Do a test scan, if it works you should firstly see a test email in your "Sent Items", and shortly after a pristine scan waiting in EverNote (you'll need to sync first).

Computer games are big, and getting bigger. With the advent of the Oculus Rift, they are only set to have a greater impact. I'm particularly interested in how then can be used to help entrepreneurs.

Unity 3D promises to be an amazing platform for game creation, problem is it's a nightmare to get into for the novice game creator. I've teamed-up with a good friend and ace computer programmer, Brice Fernandes, to fix that.

Full Video Transcript

Ben: Hi I'm Ben.

Brice: I'm Brice.

Ben: And we're going to be creating the ultimate Unity 3D development course. Whether you are just an avid gamer with no coding experience, perhaps you're an artist who wants to bring their assets alive in a gaming environment. Or maybe you're an experienced coder who wants to transfer some of your skills into the game environment. This is all about creating games using Unity 3D. We are very excited, Unity is the most wonderful platform. It lets you create games for all sorts of different things like iOS and Android.

Brice: You can do the web with the Unity web plugin, you can do all the major platforms, so Mac, Windows, Linux, all the phones, Windows phone, Android, iOS, as well as all the consoles, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, all of that.

Ben: Crazy, and you can do a load of that for free. Some of it you would have to get into professional licenses and things, but you'll be amazed what we're going to be here to show you how to do. Completely for free, all you're going to need is a Mac or a PC, and you're going to have your games live and share with your friend literally in a matter of hours. Now talking about having your games live. This is a project based course. We're very different from other Unity courses for two strong reasons. Number one, we're teaching this through the example of JavaScript, and most other people are using the horrible C#. JavaScript is easier and also it is very transferable. It's going to be a very useful skill for web programming and for life. So we're going to be using JavaScript, but using any other language is easy once you learn how to do it. And secondly it's project-based. The first thing we're going to do is dive in and create Pong 3D Tron style. You know Pong, the oldest computer game? We thought it would be a fun place to start.

Brice: Yeah.

Ben: And so we've done that, we've done it in 3D, which is unique. It's green and Tron style, and it's going to be super fun. You'll have that up and running, your own version. You'll be writing the code, you'll be working the problems out, and you'll be sharing that with your friends in just a few hours. Going on from there, we've got all sorts of ambitions of creating a tank game ultimately.

Brice: Yeah.

Ben: And the steps along the way, we may be going through Tetris and Bamboozle and a whole bunch of other games. And actually half the point of this Kickstarter is getting feedback from you guys. We really want to know what you want in the course and what retro games you want us to recreate as part of the course. So back us early, get involved early, give us your feedback, and we'll see you on the other side.